Six and Nine in the Corner Pocket
by irine18
Summary: Bridge, Z, and a game of pool.
1. Chapter 1

Power Rangers are not my property.

* * *

"Wanna play some pool?"

Bridge Carson, green ranger, master mechanic, and possessor of psychic powers, looked up from his plate of toast to see Z standing in front of him, hands and her right foot moving impatiently.

"Me?" he asked bewilderedly.

"Of course you!" She sat down next to him on the couch. "I've been dying to play for awhile now."

"I don't know how to play," Bridge said sheepily as he continued to butter his toast.

"That's alright. I can teach you." Her smile was a mile wide as she looked at the flummoxed green ranger. "I'll meet you outside headquarters in thirty minutes. Wear something casual."

Z literally bounced out of the room to go change. Bridge stood up, grabbed his toast and made his way to the room he shared with Sky.

* * *

Across the room, Jack his head lightly and sighed as his Blue Centurion plowed into Sky's Megazord. Syd, who was doing her nails while watching the boys play, noticed the change in the red ranger's demeanor.

"What's up Jack?"

"Z just asked Bridge to play pool." He replied.

"Pool? What's wrong with that?" Sky asked, slightly interested.

Jack smirked and took of advantage of the distraction. "It's the test."

"What test?" Syd put out her hand to admire her French manicure.

"The test she puts to guys she likes."

Both the video game and Sydney's nails were forgotten at this little piece of news. Sky looked at Jack, "No way! She's interested in Bridge?"

"I wasn't sure, even I have a hard time understanding Z, and I'm her best friend. But this confirms it."

"But why pool?" Syd asked.

"Z has a system."

* * *

Bridge waited outside headquarters wearing his green, long-sleeved SPD shirt and jeans. He opened and closed his hands impatiently, stretching and relaxing the new gloves he had on. After a few more minutes, he saw Z walk out the front entrance. She had on her favorite yellow leather jacket, a black tank top and jeans. Her hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail with side-swept bangs.

He watched as she came towards him, butterflies fluttering in his stomach as he thought about how pretty she looked. Bridge didn't know when he started to be attracted to Z Delgado. It crept in slowly, from the smile and look she gave him when she first joined the squad to the trill of her laughter when he started going on about his latest computer/toaster upgrade. He looked forward to spending some alone time with her.

"So where are we going?" He asked.

"This place called Gillian's that I go to now and then. Good service and great tables." With that she hooked her arm through his not noticing the blush reddening his cheeks. They walked through Parkington Plaza, the place where they first met and tried to beat each other up, to an alley behind it.

They walked through the double doors into a smoky room. The top 40 hits of the last two decades could be heard as they traversed down the carpeted walkway. In front of him, Bridge could see a long elliptical bar with customers on both sides. The bartenders walked back and forth leisurely as the poured drinks and made small talk. Sitting behind the glass counter to Bridge's left was an old man, tall and with a smile punctuated with the black of missing teeth.

"Z! Long time no see! Do you need a table?" the old man asked as he gave Bridge a glance. "Who's your friend?

Z smiled. "Mark, this is Bridge, we're on the same squad together. And Bridge this is Mark, who used to be 17th in the world before he bought this crappy place."

"This place may be crappy, but I don't see you shooting anywhere else."

"I'd miss your smile if I did. Can we get a corner table?"

"Sure, take number 19. Nice and private." He handed Z a tray of billiard balls and winked at Bridge who was still soaking in the surroundings. Z poked him in the ribs and took his arm again.

As they walked pass the other tables, they could see people of all ages and persuasions playing: salty old men playing one pocket, teenagers trying to convince a waitress to get them a beer, two middle-aged men locked into a serious competition and a dad showing his son how to hold a cue straight. Many of the people playing waved and greeted Z as the two rangers made their way to the back tables. They arrived at the corner table lit only by three lamps overhead.

Bridge sat down in a tall wooden chair as he watched Z place the balls on the table and approach the rack of cues along the wall. She had a pensive look on her face as she inspected each pool stick until she was satisfied with two cues. The yellow ranger quickly and expertly racked the balls in the triangle and turned back to Bridge.

Noticing Z's routine movements, Bridge felt a little worried and nervous. "So, I'm guessing you've been here a lot."

Z laughed, "Maybe."

"Maybe? I think I'm gonna get hustled. Are you good?"

"One lesson I learned in life is that you never say that you're good. That only gets your ass kicked. I'm alright. Let's get started."

* * *

The rest of the rangers had moved on from recreational activities to dinner. The topic of conversation had not moved on from Bridge and Z.

"So what's the system?" Sky asked as he picked at the mashed potatoes on his plate.

Jack looked up from his meatloaf and leaned back in his chair. "Everything about the pool date is calculated from how the guy reacts to other people.."

"What?" Sydney interrupted.

"Z's a regular. She knows a lot of people there and they know all about her system. They know what's happening before the guy does."

"Geez, what's the fun in that?" Syd asked as she dug through her salad.

"She has a hard time trusting people. Comes from people calling her a freak and monster when she was little." They all were quiet after that comment, contemplating their own experiences with their powers.

* * *

Z watched as Bridge awkwardly handled the cue. It stuck up at an angle and it looked like it was ready to spear the table. They had started slow, Z broke and demonstrated the basics: how to hold a cue, what the balls were, and how to play solids and stripes. Bridge just nodded his head appearing to understand.

She watched as he knocked around the balls and failed to sink any of them into the pockets. She like how determined yet childlike he was to learn how to play. Z looked at the clocked and noted that they had been there for ten minutes. She counted to ten under her breath.

"He's a cute one." A voice said from behind Z.

"Yeah," Z replied absent-mindedly. Her eyes were completely focused on Bridge. She turned to face the person speaking to her. It was a tall, brown haired girl dressed in a white shirt and black pants.

"Hey, Deb," the yellow ranger smiled at her favorite person at Gillian's. "How's business?"

"Not bad, I wish I was doing as well as you are. He's got a nice ass." The waitress said appreciatively as she checked Bridge out.

"Hey, hands off!" Z slapped the girl's hand in play. "I'll have my usual, go and ask him what he wants."

The girls turned their attention back to Bridge as he finally managed to sink a ball, the cue ball. They laughed and signaled him to come over to the small bar table near the pool table.

"Hey hun, what can I get you?" Deb asked putting in as much flirt as possible.

Bridge looked over to Z, "What are you having?"

"Maker's and ginger ale."

"What's that?" he asked puzzled.

"Bourbon whiskey and soda."

Bridge thought for a few seconds before speaking again. "I'll have the same thing." He walked back to the pool table and tried to sink in anything but the cue ball. Deb stayed by Z's side.

"So what does that mean?" she asked.

"He trusts me and he's willing to try anything." Z smiled and went to the table to help the hapless ranger.

* * *

Jack, Sky, and Sydney settled in on the couch to watch Survivor 30: Triforia. They were still dumbfounded by Z's test.

"Jack, you sure know a lot about this test." Syd asked as they watch the contestants eat live banoinga worms.

"Z pulled the test on me," he said cringing from the horrifying scene.

"Really?"

"Yup, after I hit on the waitress and had a temper tantrum when she won, she called me an egotistical jerk and decided we should stay friends."

"Typical," snorted Sky. "She made a good decision."

"Z looks at everything: how the guy treats the waitress, what he orders, how competitive he is, if he can handle defeat. And that's just the mental portion of the test."

Syd looked at Jack, "There's more?"

"I don't know if Bridge has what it takes to pass the physical."

* * *

Bridge gulped nervously as he watched Z walk away from the table and take off her yellow jacket.

"It's getting warm in here," she commented.

"Yeah," Bridge definitely felt warm as he saw her newly exposed arms. He took a sip of the drink that Deb had brought back and sputtered as the alcohol burned down his throat. Z, on the other hand, looked completely relaxed as she took small sips from her glass.

"Z, am I holding this right? It feels okay but the balls still don't go where I want them to go. They seem to have a mind of their own. They don't want to go into the holes," he looked down at the six ball. "The hole is your home! Don't you want to go home? Oops!" Bridge fumbled the cue and dropped it onto the ground. "I'm hopeless aren't I?"

"No, you're not," she couldn't help but giggle. "Here let me show you."

She approached the table and picked up the cue. "Hold the cue firmly in your bridge hand and use your other hand to keep it as parallel to the table as you can. Make sure that your feet are apart and look at the ball.

"Imagine a line is going from the pocket and through the ball. Then aim the cue ball at the where the line meets the spot where you're going to hit the other ball." Z lined up her shot and sank the ball into the pocket. She then set up the cue ball and the nine ball so that it would go straight into a side pocket. She walked back over to Bridge and handed him the cue. He tried to imitate the stance Z had taken before but was still having trouble.

"Here," Z said as she moved his arm. "You want to bend at the elbow a little bit more." Bridge felt her tan arms surround him, nudging his body until it felt steadier. Her body was close to his as she guided his back arm back and forth in a smooth motion. Z let go of his arm and Bridge made contact with the cue ball, watching it sail into the other one. The nine ball rolled smoothly into the pocket.

"I did it!" Bridge turned around and swept Z into a big hug, swinging her around and laughing. He set her back down again, arms still around her waist and looked into her smiling eyes, big and brown. They stared at each other as the background faded into silence. Involuntarily, his hand went up to caress her cheek. She closed her eyes and pressed her face into the warm leather.

Time slowed as Bridge lowered his lips down to hers. Their motions were smooth and sweet as they kissed, mental fireworks firing in their heads.

They stayed that way for moments until they heard the cheering and whistling from the rest of the club. Bridge and Z blushed as they were encouraged with catcalls of "Go Z!"

Z turned away from Bridge and yelled out, "Ok! Show's over!" She looked back at him and smiled as the adoration in his eyes.

"I want to do that again," Bridge said innocently.

"What the shot or the kiss?"

"Both," he replied. Z kissed him on the lips and set up the same shot as before.

* * *

Back at headquarters, the other rangers finished up a night of tv watching. They were all about to turn into to bed when Sky asked, "So how do we know if Bridge passed the test?"

Jack smiled. "Oh, he passed. Look." He pointed out the door as Bridge and Z walked past the rec room hand in hand and completely oblivious to anything but each other. Jack left the rec room as Sky and Syd stood with their mouths agape.

"Hey Sky?" Syd asked still stunned.

"Yeah, Syd?"

"Wanna play some pool?"


	2. The Talk

A/N: I originally intended for this to be a one-shot but my brain keeps firing and the reviews are so inspiring.

The Talk

Gillian's Billiard Café

Bridge watched as Jack talked to the waitress, feeling nervous after Jack suggested that they needed to talk. He had a feeling this was not going to be a fun talk, more like a what the hell are you doing with my sorta kinda little sister kind of talk.

"We'll start with two beers and two shots of whiskey," Jack winked at the waitress. She laughed and winked back at him before leaving for the bar. Jack turned his attention back to Bridge.

"What do you feel like playing?" Jack asked as he approached the pool table.

"Z and I usually just play solid and stripes." Bridge reached for the triangle to rack the balls.

"Are you getting any good?"

"Z still beats me very time but she says I'm starting to get the hang of it."

Jack went over to the cues and picked one out, "You and Z have been spending lots of time together lately."

Bridge gulped nervously, "Yeah, it's been really great."

The waitress came back with their drinks and set them on the table. Jack motioned to Bridge to come over. He held up the shotglasses and handed one to Bridge.

"To you and Z!" They clinked the glasses together and both drank the fiery liquid down. Jack savored the feeling and reacted slightly to the alcohol while Bridge coughed and sputtered. Jack motioned again for Bridge to break. He walked to the table and was about to break.

"So, Bridge!" Jack interrupted, "What are your plans for Z?"

Bridge missed the cueball by a mile. "What?"

"Go ahead and take your shot," Jack said amused as he watched Bridge weakly hit the balls. Jack got up to take his shot. "What are your plans for Z?"

"Well tomorrow, I was going to make some of my special cinnamon sugar toast, extra buttery," Bridge waggled his fingers, "for breakfast and.."

"No Bridge, I meant your plans for the future."

"Ohhhh!" Bridge smacked his forehead, "There's this computer convention this weekend, I was planning to go with Boom but I guess I should ask Z if she wants to come too. Do you think that's a good idea? She always watches me when I work on my upgrades. Maybe she doesn't like computers at all and she just wants to spend time with me or maybe she does like it and she'd want to go, or maybe she'll just say yes because I asked though she doesn't seem like the type to say yes just to please someone, or maybe.."

"Bridge!" Jack yelled overwhelmed by babble, "That's not what I meant either! Z is very important to me. She's the closest thing I got to family and I look out for family. I just want to know what your intentions are."

"I've never really thought about it and I usually think about a lot of things. All I know right now is that I care about her and I want to be with her all the time."

Jack looked at Bridge, "You don't have much experience do you?"

"With girls?" Bridge shook his head, "Z is the first girl I've dated. Most girls think I'm too goofy and weird. They mostly go for Sky."

"He's too stuffed up to notice."

"Yeah, he's had to forego all that stuff to become a ranger. Besides, me and Z have only been dating for a little bit. Do I really have to think about our relationship?"

Jack went over to Bridge and patted him on the shoulder, "Man, you have a lot of work ahead of you. Well, as your leader and red ranger and all time Casanova, you can come to me for any advice."

"Thanks Jack. Is there anything you can tell me right now?"

"Sure about what?" The game of pool was forgotten as they sat down at a nearby table.

"Can you tell me about sex?"

Jack looked at Bridge, "WE NEED FOUR MORE SHOTS!" he yelled out to the waitress. "Bridge, I'm not sure that's a subject that I feel too comfortable with."

"But Jack, I have no idea what I'm doing! Kissing is great but what if Z wants more or if she's more experienced? Is she more experienced?"

"Whoah! I think Z would kill me if I answered that." Jack put his hands up, "How experienced are you?"

Bridge mumbled, "I'm a virgin."

"What?"

"I'm a virgin."

"Can you say that louder Bridge?"

"I'M A VIRGIN!" The whole club froze at Bridge's exclamation. It settled back down as a blush settled along Bridge's cheeks.

Jack laughed, "It's alright buddy. It's perfectly fine to be a virgin. Let's just say that I'm not surprised that you are."

"Is there anything you could tell me?"

"Just relax, let things take their course. Z is pretty straightforward, she'll let you know when she's ready."

Bridge let out a sigh of relief, "I think I'll let her take lead on a lot of things."

"If I listened to that I would probably have longer relationships, let the woman lead." Jack chuckled, "One last thing Bridge."

"What's that?"

"If you ever hurt Z, I'm gonna have to kill you."

Bridge looked Jack straight in the eye, "I would never let anything happen to her. I would die first."

Jack searched Bridge's eyes and found he liked what he saw, "You're a good man. I give you my seal of approval."

"Can I call you big brother?" Bridge smiled.

"No, let's get back to the game." Jack slapped Bridge on his back and they turned back to the pool table.


End file.
